Tag Archives: Riverview Hospital

Treatment-resistant psychosis is a challenge to psychiatry and a substantial burden to health-care systems. The province of British Columbia in Canada has publicly funded, universal health care, and patients with treatment-resistant psychosis may receive care in a specialized residential program. Between 1993 and 2011, 663 patients were admitted to this program; this cohort contains one of the largest known series of patients with treatment-resistant schizoaffective disorder.

All patients were evaluated by a psychiatrist, social worker, pharmacist, nurse, general physician, and neuropsychologist. Records from previous hospital admissions were reviewed and all information was presented at a multidisciplinary conference. This resulted in a consensus DSM-III or -IV multiaxial diagnosis and a detailed treatment plan. Ratings of symptoms and functioning at admission and discharge included the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), the Global Assessment of Functioning Scale, the Social and Occupational Functioning Scale, and the Clinical Global Impression of Severity. A research psychologist compiled all data at the time of each patient’s hospitalization.

Patients who did not complete treatment or had a diagnosis other than schizophrenia (SZ), schizoaffective (SZA) or mood disorder (MD) were excluded; the following describes 551 included patients (SZ = 63%, SZA = 29%, MD = 8%). More than half were male (59%), and the mean duration of hospitalization was 30 weeks. The proportion receiving clozapine increased from 21% at admission to 61% at discharge. Those with a MD were less likely to receive clozapine than either SZ or SZA (SZ = 64%, SZA = 61%, MD = 41%). In each diagnostic group, both antipsychotic polypharmacy and the ratio of prescribed daily dose to defined daily dose (PDD/DDD) of antipsychotic medication decreased during hospital stay (polypharmacy: SZ: 52% to 16%, SZA: 52% to 14%, MD: 43% to 0%; PDD/DDD: SZ: 2.1 to 1.6, SZA: 2.1 to 1.4, MD: 1.6 to 1.1). The use of mood stabilizers declined in all groups, but antidepressant use declined only in SZ and SZA. Mean total PANSS score declined in all diagnostic groups, but most in MD, least in SZ, and intermediate in SZA.

In an intensive inpatient program for treatment-resistant psychosis, aggregate improvement occurred despite global reduction in medications while clozapine use nearly tripled. Lower total antipsychotic dose correlated with greater improvement at discharge.

Randall is pleased to be attending the 66th Annual American Psychiatric Association Institute on Psychiatric Services in San Francisco. He presented findings on 630 patients treated during 1993-2010 on the refractory psychosis ward at Riverview Hospital, British Columbia.

The B.C. Psychosis Program at Detwiller Pavilion, UBC hospital, admitted its first patients on Feb 23, 2012. As heir to the Refractory Psychosis ward at Riverview Hospital, the program accepted nine patients from Riverview who were not yet ready to go home. Since then, patients have been admitted from Fraser Health, Vancouver Coastal Health, and Vancouver Island. We have space for patients from Interior and Northern Health Authorities and look forward to referrals from those regions. We have a presence on the Web and our referral forms are available for download.

Many people played a role in organizing the program and helping in the transition from Riverview to UBC Hospital. I was selected to be medical director in December 2011 well after this process was underway. I have not even met some of the people who were instrumental in making the program come together in February with the infrastructure and personnel we need to function. Although I risk offense by leaving some important names out, I want to thank certain people for helping me as I took on this job. They include Bill MacEwan whose counsel has been invaluable, Carole Rudko and Derek Lyons for all the work they’ve done in hiring and training our staff, and Leslie Arnold whose vision and personal interest in this project have made it possible. Sean Flynn, Diane Fredrikson and Veerle Willaeys are physician colleagues who are working to make our clinical program excellent. Bill Honer, Laura Case and Soma Ganesan have provided vital advice and support to me and our team. The steering committee, which includes people from all Health Authorities, continues to meet monthly and is our conduit to the province.

Creating a provincial resource in the ivory tower of UBC is a challenge given the distance to places like Campbell River, Terrace and every other town in B.C. where people and families are affected by severe psychosis. The B.C. Psychosis Program needs to be accessible to them just as it is to people in Vancouver. But the benefit of being at UBC is the ability to attract excellent staff and to create a site for significant research on treatment-resistant psychosis.